Director Derek Cianfrance has been a longtime fan of Desplat's work. "Filmmaking demands collaborative inspiration and trust. Desplat's music inspired the script," Cianfrance stated. Cianfrance had Desplat write a piano piece specifically for Alicia Vikander's character, Isabel, in order to actually play in the scenes. Once Alicia mastered it for the film, the piece became the emotional North Star for the tonal palette of the score. He concluded, "Over the next few months, I was able to collaborate with a true master. His music gave my film coherence, emotion, and most importantly, soul. Working with him was nothing short of a dream come true."

Desplat on the other hand knew the director could tell a love story without sentimentalism while simultaneously creating powerful camera moves to express tension. "He turned what seemed at first to be an intimate film and took the audience into a strong epic ride," Desplat stated. "This passion I encountered when we worked closely on the score with Derek, sharing with me the journey of a composer, made of solitude and doubts, with kindness but also high expectations."